Brianna Cope. Photo: World Surf League
Brianna Cope is no stranger to adversity. Born with a birth defect that left her with a deformed hand, Cope faced bullying growing up and often attempted to hide her hand as a result. When she was four, her dad taught her to surf, and she fell in love with the sport as it was the one place that no one asked about her hand. When she was 11, Cope started competing in local contests near her home on the south shore of Kauai. Cope went on to compete on the Qualifying Series, the Challenger Series, and ABC’s The Ultimate Surfer with the goal of qualifying for the Championship Tour. Here, Cope shares why Kauai was a great place to grow up as a surfer, what is was like competing on a reality show, and how growing up with a birth defect shaped her into the person that she is today.
Why was Kauai such a great place to grow up as a surfer?
We have such fun waves. Surfing is such a community thing: You surf with all your friends and your family. And it’s just such a special place because every time you go into the water it feels so healing.
What challenges did you face growing up with a birth defect and how did it shape you into the person that you are now?
Being different is the biggest blessing in disguise because it teaches you grit and how to push through. Being bullied as a kid makes you stronger. It’s tough to say it’s good to be different, but it shaped me into the person I am today. It taught me about never giving up. I think putting yourself through tough times and learning and growing from each thing shapes you. Everyone has their own struggles and it’s about overcoming them and finding ways to learn from everything, good or bad.
When did you first start competing?
I started competing when I was 11 years old. I entered the Iron Brothers’ contest when I was 10 or 11 and I think I lost the first heat and then the next year I went and won it. I think that sparked the fire losing in the first heat and then later on being able to win — that’s definitely what pumped me up. I love competing.
Photo: WSL
What have been some career highlights for you so far?
I think my biggest competitive highlight was the Los Cabos event, which is now known as a Challenger. I made the final with Coco Ho. There have been so many great competition things but that definitely is the one that sticks to my head the most.
What was it like competing on The Ultimate Surfer?
It was actually really fun. I was competing with one of my best friends [Tia Blanco] and having her win the show was super cool. Coming second wasn’t really cool, but it was fun to see my best friend win. It was a great experience and I think it bonded Tia and I even more because there were so many laughs, cries, and we were so out of our comfort zone. That was the craziest thing not knowing what we were doing every day and really pushing each other. I learned a lot about myself – I didn’t have my phone, so I had to really be there for myself.
What was it like getting to spend so much time at the Surf Ranch?
I love wave pools. We didn’t surf that much in the beginning because there were so many of us, but towards the end we got a lot of time. I think wave pools are so fun. I just did some stuff with Perfect Swell in the Brazil wave pool, and I’ll be going to Japan to try that wave pool. I think that’s the future of progressing the sport because you have so many attempts to try new things or try new airs and I’m super pumped on them.
You were just part of Surf Girls Hawaii. How’d that docuseries go?
I was super stoked to be a part of it because it’s really true to Hawaii and to the culture. We all have such different backgrounds and upbringings, but it ties in how surfing brought us all together. I’m the only one on the show that’s not native Hawaiian, but I grew up in Hawaii.
Photo: WSL
You’ve been trying to qualify for the CT for a while, but it hasn’t lined up yet. How do you stay motivated?
It’s about finding balance. I’ve been competing since I was a kid and there are a lot of ups and downs. I’m actually taking a break and just doing events that I want to do this year, going on more wave pool trips, creating a lot more fun content, and just being super stoked on surfing. Sometimes you travel all around the world and you have a rough heat, or you don’t catch a wave in your heat – there are so many variables with competitive surfing, which is what makes the sport beautiful because you’re surfing with Mother Nature, but sometimes it makes the sport difficult. I think that’s my whole thing – taking a step back and deciding if I want to do it or if I want to have a break.
What does a typical week at home look like for you?
I work out five days a week. I run five days a week. I just started boxing again, that’s two times a week. I do underwater training a lot. I’m really big into fitness: I’m running two marathons this year. I’m full throttle into fitness and finding what helps me. And I surf every day no matter what.
What are your goals looking forward?
My goals are to progress my surfing and go to the wave pools and try them all out. And I really just want to take events that I want to be doing. I’ll be doing Super Girl Pro because I think that’s such an important event for empowering women. During the winter season I want to try and get a big wave.
